Warfare (film)

Warfare
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ray Mendoza Alex Garland
Written by	Ray Mendoza Alex Garland
Produced by	Andrew Macdonald Allon Reich Matthew Penry-Davey Peter Rice
Starring	D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai Will Poulter Cosmo Jarvis Kit Connor Finn Bennett Joseph Quinn Charles Melton Noah Centineo Michael Gandolfini
Cinematography	David J. Thompson
Edited by	Fin Oates
Production company	DNA Films
Distributed by	A24
Release dates	March 16, 2025 (2025-03-16) (Music Box Theatre) April 11, 2025 (2025-04-11) (United States) April 18, 2025 (2025-04-18) (United Kingdom)
Running time	95 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$19.4 million

Warfare is a 2025 war film written and directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland. Based on Mendoza's experiences during the Iraq War as a U.S. Navy SEAL, the film depicts an encounter he and his platoon experienced on November 19, 2006 in the wake of the Battle of Ramadi. To maintain historical accuracy, the film's material is exclusively taken from the testimonies of the platoon members, and is presented in real time. It stars an ensemble cast that includes D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Mendoza, alongside Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Noah Centineo, and Michael Gandolfini. The film is dedicated to platoon member Elliott Miller (Jarvis), who lost his leg and the ability to speak in the incident.

Warfare premiered at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago on March 16, 2025, and was released in the United States by A24 on April 11, 2025, and in the United Kingdom on April 18. The film received critical acclaim.

Plot

In 2006 Ramadi, under darkness Navy SEAL platoon Alpha One takes control of a multi-story house. From the outside it appears to be an average house, however, they are surprised to find that the upper level of the house is a separate apartment. This forces them to break a wall to access the level. From the house, JTAC communications officer Ray Mendoza uses air support to monitor their position while sniper and medic Elliott Miller monitors a neighborhood market across the street. They are performing overwatch in support of the US Marines operation in the area.

The team's translators, Farid and Noor, learn of different families on the two floors of the building and tell them to remain silent and in place. Both Ray and Elliott notice an increase in activity as well as withdrawn air support. ANGLICO LT McDonald radios for any air assets available while the Iraqi translators warn that the enemy on the streets has just broadcast a call to arms. Leading Officer in Charge Erik immediately assigns the translators to guard various parts of the building as Ray communicates their situation. A grenade is thrown into the sniper's room in close proximity to Elliott, Tommy and Frank, though the team is able to avoid any major injuries. The team call for a CASEVAC to medically evacuate Elliott. In preparation, they gather all their weapons and blow claymores. As the Bradley arrives, the translators are sent out first followed by the platoon. An IED explodes next to the Bradley, killing one of the translators and gravely wounding both Elliott and Leading Petty Officer Sam. The Bradley immediately departs.

Alpha One eventually retreats and reorganizes into the house to tend to the wounded. Discombobulated, Erik tries to get the nearby team Alpha Two to urgently collapse into their position however, Alpha Two are slowed down by firefights in the street. Air support returns but due to the opposing fire on the rooftops, LT McDonald can only coordinate a 'show of force'. Ray assesses Sam's injuries and determines a tourniquet is needed, he attempts to put it on Sam's leg but is unable to do so due to his shaking hands. He resorts to placing his knee on Sam's wound which puts Sam in extreme agony. Ray dissociates in this moment causing Erik to snap into action and place the tourniquet on Sam. At the same time, Elliott regains consciousness while LT McDonald tends to his injuries. As the team's medic, Elliott directs LT McDonald to the morphine in his bag which is administered to both Elliott and Sam.

Alpha Two and the third element consolidate in the street and finally make it into Alpha One's building. Their request for a CASEVAC is denied because of the Bradleys' fear of another IED attack. Erik asks Alpha Two leader Jake to take control of the situation and the latter convinces his communications officer, John, to pose as the commanding officer to approve their request to redeploy the Bradleys for evacuation. Jake retrieves gear left on the street in the IED aftermath before Elliott and Sam are successfully loaded into a Bradley each. The rest of the team returns to the house. With activity converging on their surrounding buildings, Jake orders the Bradleys to take out the top deck of their building. His request is initially denied then actioned when he convinces them the top deck is clear of friendlies. Under the cover of another 'show of force', the remaining Alpha One and Alpha Two men are extracted by two Bradleys and exit the neighborhood. The families in the house slowly emerge out of their rooms, realizing the military have left. The Iraqi fighters who were shooting at them from nearby houses gather in the street.

Cast

With the exception of Mendoza and Miller, all real-life figures were given alternate aliases for their characters, as the rest did not go public with their identities.

• Joseph Quinn as Sam, the LPO (based on Joe Hildebrand)
• Charles Melton as Jake, Assistant Officer in Charge
• D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Ray Mendoza, a communicator/JTAC
• Will Poulter as Erik, Officer in Charge
• Cosmo Jarvis as Elliott Miller, a Corpsman/lead sniper
• Kit Connor as Tommy, a gunner
• Finn Bennett as John, a communicator/JTAC
• Taylor John Smith as Frank, a sniper
• Michael Gandolfini as USMC LT McDonald, an officer in ANGLICO and an FSO
• Adain Bradley as USMC Sgt. Laerrus, a member of ANGLICO
• Noah Centineo as Brian/Zawi, a gunner
• Evan Holtzman as Brock, a sniper
• Henry Zaga as Aaron, point man
• Alex Brockdorff as Mikey, a point man/gunner
• Nathan Altai as Farid
• Donya Hussen as Noor
• Aaron Deakins as Bob

Production

In February 2024, it was announced that A24 was developing a war film with Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland set attached, which would follow Garland's film Civil War, for which Mendoza was the military supervisor. The duo wrote the script and planned to direct the film together. At the time of the announcement, Charles Melton was in negotiations to star in the film. Joseph Quinn was being considered for the cast as well. D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai was cast in the film to portray Mendoza himself in March 2024, when the title was confirmed to be Warfare, with Kit Connor, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter, and Finn Bennett being added to the cast as well. That same month, Garland announced his intentions to step back from directing films and focus on writing, while announcing that his directional role in Warfare would be more of a supporting role to Mendoza's. In April 2024, Noah Centineo, Taylor John Smith, Adain Bradley, Michael Gandolfini, Henry Zaga, and Evan Holtzman joined the cast. Principal photography began in May 2024 in London.

Release

Warfare was released by A24 in the United States on April 11, 2025. The film premiered at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago on March 16, 2025, featuring a Q&A with the directors and Will Poulter after the screening.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Warfare was released alongside The Amateur, Drop, and The King of Kings, and was projected to gross $6–9 million from 2,670 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $3.6 million on its first day, including an estimated $1.16 million from preview screenings throughout the week. It went on to debut to $8.3 million, finishing fourth at the box office. In its second weekend the film made $4.9 million (a drop of 41%), finishing in fifth.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 184 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Narratively cut to the bone and geared up with superb filmmaking craft, Warfare evokes the primal terror of combat with unnerving power." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 90% overall positive score, with 67% saying they would definitely recommend the film.

Gregory Nussen of Deadline Hollywood wrote: "At best, Warfare is an artfully made recreation; at worst it is naked military propaganda set during one of the country's most egregious moments of imperialism."

External links

• Warfare at IMDb